Swift Shoes, Rainbow Palettes, & Eternal Painting
by BlueMango
Summary: Oneshot. The god and goddess get lost in the memories of their past as Hermes stops by to visit Iris' co-op. 1st ever Hermiris. Mention if used, thx.


**Since this is the first fic for Hermiris (thanks to mew-tsubaki for the couple name), I'd appreciate a small mention if you wrote them, thanks. :)**

Disclaimer: The _Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus _cast belongs to Rick Riordan_, _not to me. Please enjoy this oneshot!

**-8-**

Iris looked through the tangled strings of the dream catchers as she hung them in the window displays, her mind lost as she gazed at the colorful crystal beads dangling from them, wondering what it would have been like to be the Oracle of Apollo.

Her mind traveled down the road of her past, her five millennia devoted to serving the gods. The struggle of never knowing her own identity for such a duration—how had she endured it for so long? She was immortal, of course, but that didn't mean that time was the issue—it was always being on the road, delivering someone else's messages or succumbing to being someone else's slave. Out of all the colors of the rainbow, she was feeling a little blue because of these thoughts of hers.

Beside her, a mini rainbow flickered in front of her. An Iris message? Iris wondered whom it was from. "Hello?" she asked as she shuffled some historical artifacts on the display shelf.

"Hi, Mom," Butch, her son, said with that grunt that he had whenever he was happy in her presence.

"Hi, Butch. How are you?" Her inner rainbow shimmered at the sight of her son—she loved him very much.

"I'm good. Just wanted to slip in a message. Travis and Connor Stoll are nagging me about Fleecy. When I see them the next time, I'm going to—" He made fists with his two hands and shook them in the air.

"Butch… Now, we've had this conversation before." She crossed her arms, even though she was standing on a ladder. She was immortal and she dominated everything, even gravity, when she went into mother mode. "And you know that Hermes is my good friend. So be nice to his sons and don't fight."

Butch sighed. "Okay…" He tried to distract himself as he brushed the pegasi at the stables in Camp Half-Blood. He smirked as he found a way out of his conversation. "So, good _friend, _eh?"

"That's nothing, Butch." She quirked her eyebrow. "After knowing each other for so long, don't you think something would have happened by now?"

"Well, has it or not?"

Butch brought up a good point. Even though Iris was good friends with Hermes, what _really_ was her relationship with him?

"And what's this about Fleecy, Butch?" Iris asked innocently as she teased her son, painfully wanting to change the subject.

Butch blushed when he heard the remark. "Don't know what you're talking about." He looked down at the hay on the floor and fiddled with it.

"Y'know, I still hear things even though I don't deliver messages." She smirked as she climbed down the ladder, the message following her.

"Well…I better be going now, but I just wanted to see that you were okay." Clearly, Butch was evading the topic of Fleecy, but Iris had had enough of teasing her son for the day.

"I'm good, Butch. Thanks for the call. You know I miss you and love you." She folded the ladder as their conversation drew to a close.

Butch was about to go but Iris stopped him.

"Wait. Hold on a second." She held up her index finger in front of him and went back to the store.

Butch knew he should've hung up, but his mother would get mad.

"Fleecy! Butch is here. Say hi!" Iris yelled from her spot.

Butch could see Fleecy from a distance as she was working at the cash register. "Hi, Butch!" the nymph hollered.

He yelled a quick "Hi" back and hung up.

Iris laughed as she moved the ladder to the storage room, trying not to let her son's words about Hermes bother her. Just earlier she had been wondering about what it was like to be the Oracle of Apollo. But now her thoughts drifted as she thought of a time when she would've begged for the gift of Prophecy…

_May Castellan…_

Iris shuffled faster past Fleecy, who looked at her with questioning eyes. "Iris, are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," she replied breathlessly.

**-8-**

Yesterday Iris felt odd. The whole thought of Hermes bothered her, and she escaped to some dried fruits and a cup of green tea. She relaxed as she sat by the bay window, wondering what demigods she would help next. She couldn't wait to show them her wares. Even better, if someone wanted to be a ROFL-copter and work at her co-op, she would be glad to let him or her do so.

"Iris, we've got a visitor!" Fleecy yelled from the front of the store.

Iris perked up, the tea having given her a zing ready to get back to work. As she got up and put the dishes in the sink, she went to the front of the store, wondering whom she was going to help next.

Excited, she went through the doorway and saw a man in a runner's suit. Her pace slowed as she realized who that person was. Her long, black hair followed her as she stepped backwards for a moment. She recognized his jogging suit, his athletic build from delivering messages, his cell phone with his two snakes circling around it, his salt and pepper hair, and his lovely blue eyes.

Fleecy stared, wide-eyed, between Iris and Hermes.

The air in Iris' throat got caught as she walked forward to the god, who greeted her with a smile.

"Been a while, Iris. You look like a walking rainbow." He smiled as he looked at her.

"Thanks. I see you're still on the run," she remarked as she crossed her arms. She walked towards him in that Iris strut that took over whenever Hermes was around; a surge of competition went through her as it always had.

"Yes. I'm always delivering messages… By the way, I have a message for you." He handed her a cream envelope that read:

_Open tonight through the dream catchers when the moon is full._

Iris was baffled. Why did she have to open it tonight? Hermes read her confused expression and knew her next thoughts.

"Who is this from?"

"Butch. He told me that you'll understand when you do as instructed," he said as he delivered thousands of messages on his phone.

Iris was in a state of shock from the sudden appearance of Hermes and the letter. She shook her head as her son often did to regain his own composure.

"Got some of those simulated cupcakes?" Hermes went towards Fleecy and leaned over the cash register as he flashed his sly, thief-like smile.

"Yes, sir," Fleecy answered as she went to the kitchen.

Iris joined Hermes at the cash register and passed him a barstool for him to sit.

"So, how long will you be staying for?" Iris said between munches as she took some dried apricots from the bowl in front of her, which she then offered to Hermes who sat across from her.

He gladly took it, enjoying the succulent taste. "For a little bit. I've allotted time for you," he assured her. His eyes looked wistful as his mind traveled decades back.

"Hermes—"

Fleecy brought some kiwis, pomegranates, cupcakes, green tea, and some silverware, interrupting them. "Here you go. I'll be back by the café, Iris," Fleecy told her boss before she waved to her and Hermes, her weather-filled voice filling the air and leaving behind a nice breeze that reminded one of spring.

"These look good!" Hermes chewed on some pomegranate seeds. "And it's been so long since I've had a kiwi!" He scooped up the kiwi with a spoon.

"How long, Hermes?" Iris asked, though he knew she was hinting at something deeper—how long had he been gone?

"I don't know… I deliver messages and the next thing I know, it's a couple of decades, years, or millennia later, Iris" was the best answer he struggled to give. He tried to distract himself by looking at the fine texture of the kiwi. Hermes felt uneasy, the looming shadows of his unanswered feelings for Iris chasing him back—the feelings he'd run from for so long.

"I see." She gnawed on a kiwi chunk, as well. "These are good, aren't they?" She held out her kiwi to Hermes. "Fruit cheers?"

"Fruit cheers," he agreed. His voice was low, knowing that his answer had not satisfied her liking.

Their fruits tapped together and, as they lowered them, they caught each other's gaze.

Being in the cozy store swept Hermes back to his memories of Iris. He remembered when the store was first built, and he remembered when he made a special postage stop for her shop. The two had celebrated its opening together, and he could hear the clinks of their small glasses of organic wine by the bay window.

His gaze wouldn't leave Iris now; he wanted to be a little greedy and take in her image for his next journey. "It's been a while since I've seen your brown eyes. It makes me miss you back on Olympus. There's a lot of turmoil all the time between us gods." He cupped his cheek in his hand, his snakes floating around his cell phone on the counter, undisturbed.

"Which is why I left, Hermes. How can you still be a messenger?" she asked him, finishing up her kiwi.

"It's my job, and I enjoy it. I know you left, but I have to do this job," he contested.

"Sorry. It's just that I needed a change. I hope you understand." Her olive skin glowed as she glanced at him.

His thief-like hands stole hers and held them gently. "I know."

Hermes did know; he could now understand why she had left. A few millennia ago, Hermes couldn't understand her thinking—even as her close friend he thought her thinking was crazy. His misunderstanding had led to a big argument with Iris about leaving her messenger position and what that would do not only to the gods but to her. He had always been the balance between Iris and the gods. Her free spirit was too free for the gods' liking, which had left a bitter taste between the two. After centuries, Hermes could understand both sides. The gods had a lot on their plates to deal with, and Iris just wanted to find herself.

It was tough being in many places at once, being a god of messages and roads, but Hermes could manage. He had always been running and running, delivering messages and other things. He liked his job, but it also came with a downside—he didn't know who he was. Hermes admired Iris' courage to leave and start somewhere anew. To follow her instincts, even though she might not know where it would lead, even if there were consequences to be followed.

So many people had not honored her. She had no temples and no animal to represent her; the gods did not look lightly on Iris. Even though he served the gods, Hermes would always see Iris as a symbol of hope, of a shimmering rainbow that he would always run to and hold if she needed it.

Iris felt his timeworn, muscled palm. Time certainly had passed, Iris mused as she thought of their histories like trees with lines marking each event: Iris had left Hera and Zeus, she had gone on a journey of identity, had had her son Butch, had founded her Co-op, and had gone through many wars…

_And all the while Hermes was still there after so long, _she thought. "You're so fit after all these millennia," she said, keeping her thoughts to herself. She smiled, inspired by his determination to keep on delivering.

"And you're not bad, either. Organic is a good way to live." He winked, but his face quickly went solemn. "It's funny how we use millennia as a measure of our time, Iris." He shook his head, wondering where the time had gone.

"I know." The two searched each other's face, sharing many secrets and stories that they had not been able to say to each other for so long in the quiet that surrounded them.

"How's Butch?"

"He's doing really well. I think he might have a thing for my assistant," she chuckled with a wink.

"Must be nice to have such a son." He withdrew his hands, the two giving a moment of silence to Luke Castellan.

"There's hope in the rainbows, Hermes. He's in a good place, I know it." She passed him his green tea, which he took gratefully. She sat there and watched Hermes grieve for his son, sipping his tea as he gave a breathy laugh when he remembered the times he had had with his baby boy. Iris wondered which ones he remembered. Were they ones with laughter? Or the bitterness of his past love May Castellan? He looked down at the counter, which made it hard to read his face.

"Hermes…" Iris put her head on the counter and dipped her face below his, trying to see him.

"Iris…_I'm sorry_." The whisper flew out silently, almost on the verge of breaking.

"For what?" Her hands cupped his. She wanted to give her whole self to him to cheer him up.

"For all the years that I've been running away from you. All the years that we could have maybe had something." His hands ran up and down her arms after he reached for her. Feelings of passion and an unknown love lingered at his touch.

Iris was confused about her feelings for her messenger friend. They had so much in common, yet how had they been so different? Why had their paths not intersected before on the roads of love? Maybe it was a curse of the gods for her leaving or maybe it was simply that their paths were not meant to cross in such a way. It was too much, and she wanted to run away from this, as well. "We have always had something Hermes," she assured him. "What it is, I don't know. All I know is that we have each other here and now and it's all we have. Maybe forever…" Was it the beginning or was it the end? Such things didn't really exist, only forever and immortality for the gods and goddesses, Iris knew.

"And we always will." He semi-grinned at her—half in pain and half in agreement.

She wanted not to be in that state anymore; it was time to move on as the two always had. Iris stood up and stretched, the world lifting off her shoulders. Not everything was meant to be answered; some things couldn't be described in words. For some reason, she was okay with that.

Hermes stood up, as well. He was somehow feeling a recharge to run, run thousands of miles away, and to catch up on all the deliveries he had missed.

_But it was worth missing the deliveries for the sake of Iris, _he thought as he smiled to himself.

Hermes walked behind the counter to Iris and wrapped his arms around her. She let him, for they were…_something_, at least. She hugged him back, the bridge of time closing in their hearts.

"It's good to see you again," she said as she turned her head into his chest.

"You, too, Iris." He kissed her forehead and cheeks lightly, and the corner of her lips, for he didn't want to make anything more confusing than he already had.

The two just stood in the embrace, letting the truth of the moment nourish them. They left the moment to become yet another memory hung up on the wall among the millions of memories they had together. There were memories that passed as swift as Hermes' shoes and painted an eternal portrait using the palette of Iris' rainbow.

If there were a picture of them, the two gods preferred the frame the moment they were currently in: the two in standing in their embrace, with his trademark jogger's suit, her beautiful hair, the quirkiness of the shop around them, the sun streaming in through the front door, and the leftover food that the two had shared after a good conversation.

Iris kissed his cheeks, and Hermes didn't want to let go. Very slowly, the two began to back away. Iris handed him his cell phone and he put his smirk back on.

"Well, Iris, I best go now. There are deliveries to be made." The gods walked to the door, and Hermes went through the door. He took a step outside onto the green hill and looked back at Iris. "Tell Fleecy I said bye, and sorry I had to be off so soon."

"No problem; she'll understand," Iris said through the closing door, wondering if those words were really for Fleecy or for her.

"See you next time," Hermes said as the door closed, she could hear his shoes carrying him in the wind. Iris put her hand to her heart as she leaned against the door.

Fleecy walked through the café door and smiled at Iris as if the passing moment had never happened.

Like Fleecy, Iris went back to work with hope and determination.

**-8-**

The moon was bright and full on that night Iris sat by the bay window, a refreshing cup of soymilk by her side. Iris followed the letter's instructions and opened the letter that evening. She took it out and saw a black card. Iris wondered what would happen when she put it against the dream catcher she held before her.

The moon seemed closer tonight, as if it knew what she was going to do that evening.

At first she saw nothing, but then the card flickered, showing something like passing movie scenes. Iris gasped at what she saw: it was a god and a goddess laughing and dining together by a bay window, it was running together and delivering items to people, the god holding the goddess' hand, and the two walking by the river near Camp Half-Blood. Iris laughed when she saw their first of many kisses in the back of Hermes' delivery truck. Things started to go bad, though, when the god and goddess fought over her leaving her messenger position, which made Iris tear up.

The scene switched when the god went crazy, as he had lost one of the loves his life—May Castellan. Iris had Iris-messaged him in his time of darkness, and the two apologized to one another; sorry for their wrongdoings, they asked if they could start anew as they always had. Iris' heart was breaking as she saw them being reunited. They flew to each other, and he spun her around. They shared stories around the bay window of her new co-op, clinked their glasses of wine, and kissed a few times to make up for their lost time.

The next scene brought Iris to the current moment and her previous hug with Hermes. The card didn't show any more scenes afterward, nor did it move anymore under the moonlight—it stayed on the two hugging in her shop. Tears formed in the rainbow goddess' eyes as she looked at the picture.

It was a still-life that held memories that passed as swiftly as Hermes' shoes and painted an eternal portrait using the palette of Iris' rainbow.

**-8-**

**Well, that was just…heart wrenching to write. At first, this was going to be happy, but it somehow makes sense for the two to be unsure about their feelings about each other. After so many years, complications had grew, which makes it harder for the two to be together. Also, if you like the little Fleecy and Butch moments I wrote, I have the first story ever for the Fleetchy pairing called: "Head in the Cloud...Nymphs" Check it out! I'd like just a small mention if you write them, thanks. :) **

**Thanks for reading my story. Let me know what you think about it by leaving a review. **

**Thanks to mew-tsubaki for beta'ing my story. Also, if you love **_**Harry Potter **_**by J.K. Rowling, she has more than a few hundred stories dedicated to it. She has written stories for anime, TV shows, and books. Go check her out. ;)**


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